PROS AND CONS OF PRACTICING ENGLISH LISTENING SKILLS BY LISTENING TO MUSIC

3343 PROS AND CONS OF PRACTICING ENGLISH LISTENING SKILLS BY LISTENING TO MUSIC Huỳnh Hoàng Thịnh, Huỳnh Lâm Cát Tường, Nguyễn Đông Thức, Nguyễn Ngọc Thùy Linh Khoa Tiếng Anh, Trường Đại học Công ngh.

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PROS AND CONS OF PRACTICING ENGLISH LISTENING SKILLS

BY LISTENING TO MUSIC Huỳnh Hoàng Thịnh, Huỳnh Lâm Cát Tường, Nguyễn Đông Thức,

Nguyễn Ngọc Thùy Linh*

Khoa Tiếng Anh, Trường Đại học Công nghệ TP Hồ Chí Minh (HUTECH)

GVHD: ThS Vũ Xuân Quang

ABSTRACT

People frequently hear what is being said; nevertheless, hearing is not the same as listening To listen, we must make a conscious effort to not just hear but also absorb, digest, and comprehend what others are saying Listening not only improves your capacity to understand and communicate, but it also makes other people's experience of conversing with you more pleasurable Listening to music is often considered to be a simple method to integrate English into one’s daily life and develop one’s listening skills It is a low-effort, low-impact method of learning pronunciation and colloquial phrases or expressions in English, which can be utilized to develop the aforementioned skills anytime and anywhere

Keywords: English, listening, listening skills, method,

1 INTRODUCTION

Listening is an ongoing process that involves patience, compassion, and perseverance The majority of noises

in the environment are blocked out by human conduct Concentration is required to absorb the words and digest their meaning in order to make sense of them Listening encourages active engagement in a conversation, which helps to build stronger bonds It also aids in the development of trust, the strengthening of bonds, the resolution

of conflicts, and, most significantly, the inspiration of others by demonstrating that you are paying attention to the speaker's words There are many ways to improve listening, one of them is listening to English music If you want to improve your English listening skills, you should start with music After all, English-language rock, pop, and hip hop music is heard in a wide range of contexts around the globe Many people have probably listened while shopping, shopping for groceries, or enjoying a drink at a bar, so why not put it to good use? This paper aims to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using music to improve listening skills, as well

as provide examples of amusing English songs as a learning tool that can help people get a better view of learning English by listening to English music, which can lead to a simple and colorful language development path

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2 BENEFITS OF LISTENING TO ENGLISH MUSIC

Many writers state that English songs have the great effect on listening comprehension (Lems, 2001; Vernon, 2006; Fonseca-Mora et al., 2011; Qiu, 2006; Rapport, 2005; Farrug, 2008) Specifically, Lems (2001), Rapport (2005), and Farrug (2008) opine that English songs can improve comprehension skills, increase vocabulary and create fun Vernon (2006) claims that English songs bring energy to the classroom and boost students’ confidence Foneseca-Mora el al and Qiu (2011, 2006) point out another two functions of English songs in

materials and contain various universal themes (E.g love, friendship, dream, and joy) English songs also promote an active atmosphere Music has the greatest potential in ESL classrooms since music has related closely to language (Lieb, 2008) Much linguistic information is contained in English songs, such as grammar,

and the lyrics are easy to imitate and memorize

Increases your vocabulary: Songs can be a great way to brush up on your vocabulary They are frequently

centered on a theme or topic that provides a framework for learning vocabulary You can learn new words by studying the lyrics of a song You will easily memorize this vocabulary if you sing it several times Music can assist us in remembering the order of words and the basic structure of language You will be able to remember and understand linguistic structure better

Improve your pronunciation by doing the following: When it comes to learning a new language, one of the

most challenging components to grasp is pronunciation Learning English through songs would undoubtedly assist you in improving your English skills We pay attention to the rhythm, beat, tone, and form of the mouth when we sing or listen to music It can help you improve your natural speaking if you use it on a regular basis

Improve brain functions: Music can help with anxiety, blood pressure, and pain, as well as sleep quality,

mood, mental acuity, and memory

Remember words and phrases: It is difficult to remember words, but song lyrics are simple to recall Words

stick in your head for a long time because of the repetition and captivating sounds

Improve your performance: It has been discovered that music can assist people in performing better in

high-pressure situations

Assist you in becoming more focused: The brain is moved to pay attention by music Music stimulates the

parts of the brain involved in attention, prediction & keeping track of the incident in memory

Reduce stress: Music has the ability to help you feel more upbeat and hopeful about life A slower cadence

helps calm your thoughts and relax your muscles, making you feel calmer and letting go of the day's stress

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Music can help you relax and manage your stress Music is not only a great way to learn, but it can also be emotionally engaging Learning English is made easier by listening to something you enjoy yourself

3 DISADVANTAGES

There are several disadvantages to training English listening skills by listening to music, aside from the ease

It is not a perfect method to practice a skill while listening to music Even though you hear a song every day, you may misunderstand the lyrics unless you read the lyrics while listening to the song It is easy to mistake the lyrics if you haven't read them before A song's lyrics or title, for example, may not always convey what they say There could be a tale or context behind the English song If you comprehend the music, this is crucial; there may be some delicate topics, cures words, and so on You do not want to insult someone by mistakenly repeating something they said in a song, to be precise Listening to music is a passive activity, even if it is nice, calming, and enjoyable You can make even more progress by actively listening to a podcast, the radio, or another favorite technique if you really want to enhance your listening skills and employ English songs to aid you Another thing to keep in mind is that vocalists regularly play with with language and meaning You will notice that they don't always utilize standard English as you listen to English music to improve your listening abilities Keep in mind that English dialects, such as African American Vernacular English, may utilize different grammar than what is commonly recognized and popularly used in different regions and within

4 CONCLUSION

In summary, there are some disadvantages of learning English listening skills through music such as learning incorrect sentences because of grammar in lyrics, encountering curse words and misunderstanding the meaning

of the song easily The disadvantages, however, are dominated by substantial advantages, consisting of increasing your vocabulary, getting better comprehension, improving your pronunciation, enhancing brain

you focus more and updating the event in memory Finally, practicing English listening skills through music somehow would be the best way if you want to learn and relax at the same time despite some minimal drawbacks

REFERENCES

1 Farrug, D (2008) How music helps language learning Retrieved from http://diane-farrug.suite101.com/why-use-music-to-learn-language-a42493

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2 Fonseca-Mora, M.C., Toscano-Fuentes, C., & Wermke, K (2011).Melodies that help: The relation between lauguage aptitude and musical intelligence Anglistik International Journal of English Studies, 22(1), 101-118

3 Jiang, N (2004) English songs in teaching listening Journal of Xichang Teachers College, 16(1), 39-41

4 Lems, K (2001) Using music in Adult ESL classroom Retrieved from http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com.ezproxy.uwplatt.edu/hww/results/external_link_

maincontentframe.jhtml?_DARGS=/hww/results/results_common.jhtml.44

5 Liao, Y (2006) English songs and teaching college English Listening Journal of Yibin University, 5, 95-97

6 Lieb, M (2008) Listening activities using popular music Unpublished manuscript,

http://tht-japan.org/proceedings/2008/m_lieb30-45.pdf

7 Qiu, L J (2006) The special role of English songs in listening course Journal of Suzhou College, 21(3), 74-75

8 Rappaport, H (2005) The infinite variety of listening logs: Your students may

astound you Music Educators Journal, 91(3), 29-33

9 Vernon, S (2006) How to use songs for teaching English Retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Use-Songs-For-Teaching-English&id=4860963